Moffett



(No Model.) i

R. W. MOFFETT.

ANTI-FRICTION JOURNAL BEARING.

No` maur/"4.v Patented Aug. 26, 189m q @wr f 1 0 UNITED STATES 'PATENTOFFICE.

ROBERT IVASHINGTON MOFFETT, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

ANTI-FRICTION JOURNAL-BEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,074, dated August26, 1890.

Application filed December 18, 1889. Serial No. 334,186.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT WASHINGTON MOFFETT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State ofColorado, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Anti-Friction Journal-Bearings, of which the following is a specification,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l isa longitudinal vertical central section of a journal-bearing embodyingmy improvement. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same, taken on the line1 l of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrow in the latterfigure. Fig. 3 is a detached detail end view of one of the anti-frictionrollers, its spindle, and the intervening anti-friction balls; and Fig.4L is a detached detail side elevation of a part of the roller-cage,showing the mode of connecting the retaining-rings together.

Heretofore anti-friction journal-bearings have been constructed in whichthe journal has impinged upon a surrounding series of rollers interposedbetween itself and its journal-box. To keep these rollers parallel withtheir surrounded journal and prevent their mutualinterference, they havebeen spaced relatively to each other by providing each with a spindle,the ends of which are lodged in the retaining-rings of a roller-cage.Sometimes this mode of construction has'been so far refined that each ofthe rollers above rej ferred to impinges upon its own spindle, notdirectly, but only through the interposition of similarly-acting butsmaller and auxiliary rollers. In these latter cases, however, nosimilar provision for preserving the proper alignment of these auxiliaryrollers has been heretofore attempted, and in practice it has been foundthat these auxiliary rollers will not preserve their parallelism withtheir inclosed spindle. To obviate this difficulty I discard theauxiliary rollersA and use ballbearings between the main roller and itsspindle, and by locating these balls at each end of each 1n ainv roller,between it and the adjacent face of the retaining-ring of the rollercage, they perform the additional function of spherical anti-frictionlateral bearings between these parts. My method of construction, bywhich I attain both these objects, is

well illustrated by the accompanying drawings, which represent the bestembodiment of my invention now known to me.

In the drawings, 2 is the main journal, to

which my anti-friction bearing is applied, l

and 3 is the journal-box in which it is incased.

4 is one of the series of anti-friction rollers interposed between thisjournal-box and its journal 2 all around the latter.

5 is the retaining-ring, inwhich aremounted the spindles 6 of therollers 4. To .obviate friction between this roller and its spindle,each end ot the former is provided with a cup-shaped concavity 7, whichforms a seat for a series of balls 8, surrounding the spindle. At thesame time this seat 7 is of a depth slightly less than the diameter ot'the balls, the object being to interpose the latter between the rollerand the retaining-ring, so

as to obviate all friction arising from the end-- thrust of the formeragainst the latter. The end-thrust of the retaining-ring itself againstthe end of the journal-box is taken up bythe balls 9 in the usualmanner. It will be observed that the retaining-ring is thus kept clear,not only of the roller and the end of the journal-box, but of the mainjournal and the sides of its journal-box as well, this latter resultbeing attained bymaking the ballseat 7 of a diameter barely large enoughto surround the balls and their inclosed spindle, while the internal andextreme diameters of the retaining-rings are such as to afford it ampleclearance, both as to the Inain journal and those sides of thejournal-box parallel therewith. Therefore, aside from occasionalend-thrust, the bearing-pressure between the main journal and itsjournal-box is thus transmitted solely through'the rollers 4, theretaining-rings being in no sense 4supports of, but, on the contrary, aload, but only to the extent of their own weight, upon these rollers,(with the intervention of the spindles 6 and balls 8.)

To keep the main rollers parallel witheaeh other and their inclosed mainjournal, the retaining-rings are firmly connected together by the bolts10, forming the usual roller-cage.

IOO

I claim as my invention and desire to sen cure by Letters Patentm l Inan anti-friction journal-bearing, a between the rollers, the spindle,and the adbearing-roller, its spindle, and interposed jacentretaining-ring. in combination, s'nbstantially as set forth.

ROBERT WASHINGTON MOFFETT. Witnesses:

G. R. CUTLER, W. C. CoRLIEs.

balls, in combination, substantially as set forth.

2. In an anti-friction journal-bearing, bearing-rollers, retaining ringsprovided with spindles for said rollers7 and balls interposed

